


Saving Hope

by Shewritesthings



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-03
Updated: 2014-07-03
Packaged: 2018-02-07 08:02:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1891407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shewritesthings/pseuds/Shewritesthings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kristen Archer has had her fair share of challenges. Dealing with a prosthetic leg, the loss of her brother, and letting go of the haunting memories of the Titan War have all proved to be harder than any monster she's ever faced… But when Chiron informs her that Luke Castellan, her past friend and partner in crime, is still alive, she's frightened by the prospect of what condition he lays in. As her old friend struggles to make sense of his crumbling sanity, Kristen must find it in herself to confront the broken past of her own life, accept the changed woman she is now, and at the same time, help Luke find his own light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saving Hope

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: A few things I've changed from the Lost Hero: 
> 
> It takes place exactly one year after the Titan War in The Last Olympian, in Rick's version, The Lost Hero takes place almost six months afterwards
> 
> Katie Gardner is still head counselor of the Demeter Cabin 
> 
> Luke did not "die," as presumed

**Part One: A Black Sky**

_**"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody." - Mark Twain** _

* * *

**CHAPTER I: CAMP HALF-BLOOD**

**The Titan War**

My hands shook as I strapped the arrow to the rest of the bow. The sounds of the city around us were loud and deafening, but all my thoughts were centered at the monster ahead of me. A vicious hellhound, roughly the size of a baby elephant sat before Michael and I. His jaws were dripping with fine lines of frothy saliva as he barked fiercely at Michael. My brother's movements were calm and calculated. One wrong move and the hellhound would leap at him; we had been around enough monsters to know that. In a monster attack such as this, hellhounds would have been no sweat, but this one wasn't alone. A small hound, perhaps a baby—if that was at all possible—stood beside it. It had blazing red eyes that seemed to glimmer with evil intent and intelligence. These were not the mindless hellhounds we had come to know, these had to have been made just for demigods. Damn the Titans.

Michael circled back slowly, his slanted eyes watching the movement of the hellhound as the beast watched him. He easily notched an arrow and held the bow facing towards the concrete. I felt the ground crumbling beneath our feet. "Michael, Percy he's…" I knew what was coming, for in that instant, the larger hellhound leaped straight at Michael. He cried out as its teeth clamped down on his arm.

"MICHAEL!" I screamed my fingers worked to unleash my arrow, but the smaller counterpart of the hellhound duo leaped at my chest, knocking me to ground before I could. His large jaws snapped at my face, his pus-like saliva dripped onto my skin. I growled gutturally in my throat as I kicked the hellhound back, but all that did was cause it to get angrier. His teeth scraped my elbow as I used my knee to kick it in the side, pushing it off of my chest and near my leg. His huge jaws grabbed hold of my knee and pulled harshly, I felt an agonizing wave of pain split across my vision. "Gah!" I cried out into the chaos around us. His jaws scraped the bone right out of my leg as dark spots twinkled across my vision.

"Kristen, hang on! I'm coming, Kris..." Michael let out a labored grunt and I heard a sickening yelp as his hellhound collapsed to his feet, while I struggled to rid myself of my own monster friend. Michael notched his arrow and I heard the air whistle as the arrow flew straight into the hellhound's ear. The dog froze and his eyes suddenly became blank as he dissipated into dust. My leg bled across concrete, the pieces and parts of muscle and flesh so misconfigured it did not even resemble that of a human leg. I bit down on my lip to keep the tears from forming in my eyes.

Michael grabbed hold of my hand, as the ground began furiously shaking. We both heard Percy scream at the others to get away from the Williamsburg Bridge, but we ignored it. My eyes sought Michael's face as a strong and reassuring gaze reflected from his scrunched features. He chuckled at my adamant staring. "What? Do I have a booger?" Michael smirked as he rubbed his hand across his neck.

"No, but you have an empousa." I growled through my pain, my fingers easily reached for my bow like a machine, even in great pain I knew the motions. Michael began turning, his sword at the ready as the strange-looking demon leaped at his neck. I notched my arrow through the rest and aimed, but as soon as it left the quiver, I knew it had been off. My gut twisted into a knot. No. No. The arrow soared right past the demon's eye and caught a patch of feathers on its head. Michael met my eyes. That's where I saw it. The defeat. The reality. We both knew what was coming. He threw the demon from his neck with incredible force, stabbing her with his knife. He collapsed to his knees, his neck bleeding profusely.

"Michael, I'm so sorry…" I sobbed as my brother took my hand weakly. The tears fell freely now. I did not bother to even hide the pain and exhaustion that shown across my face. He smiled weakly with his neck dripping blood. The ground beneath us quivered. Percy was going to break the bridge in less than a minute.

"Little sister… You have to work on your shot next time." He said with a raspy voice that was filled with pain. "Listen to me…" He said quietly, gesturing for me to crawl over to him. "Don't let anything stand in your way, do you understand?" His eyes blazed forth with a final bit of energy. I furrowed my brow and shook my head. Why did he remain hopeful even when we both knew this was the end?

"Michael, we're going to-ˮ I began.

"Not today, Kris… Not today." He suddenly got up, pulled me into his arms, and threw me off of the bridge just as the bricks began to collapse. The tsunami-like wave swallowing the Williamsburg Bridge like a monster's mouth, leaving nothing left but dripping bricks and sinking cries from the monsters from beneath the surface. I dragged myself to the edge, screaming Michael's name, hoping by some sliver of the gods' graces that he had managed to hang onto an edge. My eyes sought the drifting wreckage, but saw nothing. My eyes welled with fresh tears as a pain, far greater than my broken and twisted leg had to offer, rose up within my chest. "MICHAEL!" I screamed. " _Michael, come back_!" My voice quivered on the edge of collapse as I screamed over and over again, but my brother was lost in the murky waters below.

* * *

**One Year Later**

My alarm clock rudely squawked at me from my bedside, it's sharp and obnoxious rings piercing my ears. I groaned and slapped the snooze button. It read 6:30 AM. It was too damn early. I opened my eyes and looked to the calendar hanging above me on my bulletin board. The date was circled in purple marker with stars around it. Oh. My. Gods. A small smile pulled at my lips as I slipped to my feet, almost falling over when I realized my leg wasn't attached. I sighed and pulled myself back up by the bed post, gimping over to far side of my bedroom where my prosthetic sat.

"You're a real pain, you know that?" I hissed at it, hooking it up to my leg with a satisfied grunt. I grabbed my suitcase that was hidden beneath my bed and began throwing miscellaneous outfits into it. Yes, as a matter of fact, I _was_ one of those people that would wait till the very last _possible_ moment to pack. My hands grabbed at multiple articles of clothing, not really looking to see what they looked like as I threw them all in the deep suitcase.

"What else…?" Biting my lip in thought, I looked into my closet and pulled out my long bronze sword, slipping it into my belt. Okay, weapons? Check. I turned in a complete circle, spotting my ragged teddy bear sitting on my bed. I smiled slightly and grabbed it up hastily, throwing it into the suitcase. Most definitely could not forget Mr. Cuddles. I quickly made my bed, shoving some old socks under it with the dust bunnies, and pulled my overstuffed suitcase into the darkened bathroom of my house.

"Toothbrush, shampoo and conditioner, _flat-iron_ —dear Gods, I'd be a wreck." My fingers worked quickly over all the toiletries, throwing them into the pink bathroom bag I had always taken to camp.

"Sweetheart?" I turned furiously to the threshold where my mother stood with a sleepy expression on her face. She yawned and blinked a couple of times. "Did you make sure to grab the extra tampons I bought for you yesterday?" See, this is exactly why I woke up at such an ungodly hour in the morning. My mother would begin her annual interrogation of all the things I _had_ to pack.

"Yes, Mom." Somehow, I managed to force a smile, reminding myself to be thankful I had my overbearing mother in my life. Once again, I checked to make sure I had taken everything I could have from the bathroom.

"How about crackers? For when you need a snack." She seemed so concerned by this; I couldn't possibly tell her that there was a camp store.

"No, Mom, I'll go get that right now." I called, running down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"Kristen, be careful, please!" My mother shouted as she chased after me. She was overprotective before camp last year, but since then… I have been now referred to as the breakable little girl who can no longer go down stairs. Now, I'm being a bit unfair. My mother had all the reason in the world to be worried about me. That's what happens when you're a demigod: monsters hunt you and then depending on how they're feeling, will kill you, eat you, or eat you which will ultimately kill you.

"Mother, I'm fine, really." I smiled up at her as she came into the kitchen, clutching her robe in a worried manner. Guilt reached up in my chest as I saw my mother quivering there, like a lost puppy. She was so fragile; you would have thought she was the one with the fake leg. I gave her a reassured smile as I poured the teddy grams into a sandwich bag. "Mommy, it'll be fine, I promise. I will write to you every week."

That didn't even seem to reassure her. "Darling, are you sure you want to go to camp this year?" She pulled at her greying brunette ringlets. She got me there. At the beginning of the school year, I swore to myself I wouldn't return to camp for my senior year. I would refuse when the letter from Mr. D came. My heart grew heavy at the very thought of returning to New York, where not even a year ago the Titan War had occurred. There had been too many haunting memories that lingered within Cabin Seven, too many happy moments shared down at the archery arena…But Will Solace, my half-brother and beloved friend, wrote to me personally asking to come at once when the summer began. I knew I owed it to my brother to go back. It wasn't only me who had been struggling with Michael's death over the course of the past year…

"Yeah… I have to." I walked unevenly to the stairs, leaving my mother staring after me with the same concerned expression over her face. Gods, I really hated being handicapped. My fingers closed around the suitcase handle and with one dignified pull, it moved half an inch. "Damn you." I hissed. With another powerful tug, I pulled the suitcase across the bathroom floor, heaving it down the stairs. It then proceeded to drop down the stairs one-by-one.

"Do you want me to drive you there?" My mother asked anxiously. "Do you have your sword? What about socks? How many pairs did you pack?" She crossed her arms with an accusatory manner, looking at me expectantly.

With an irritated sigh, I blew a piece of hair out of my face. "Mother, I packed my whole dresser, promise. I drove there by myself last year, I'll be fine." She watched me as I limped over to her. "Can I have a hug, please? Registration is at 10:30, and I want to be there before that." I said with a small smile. She sighed and wrapped her skinny arms around me.

"Be safe, please." She took my face in her hands as she kissed my forehead. "I love you, sweetheart."

My own mouth pulled at the corners. "I love you, too, Mama." I grabbed the suitcase with both hands and opened the screen door with my elbow, prepared to take a step down onto the concrete, but for the second time that day, slipped over my mechanical leg and fell onto the pavement.

"Kristen!" My mother screeched.

"Mom, I'm fine." I snapped with a stubborn tone, yanking my suitcase up by the handles and dragging it to my car. By now, I know what you're thinking. Why would a demigod with a fake leg drive all by herself to a mysterious half-blood camp? Because the very thought of driving with my mother anywhere for longer than three hours, was quite possibly worse than getting into it with a Hydra.

With all the strength in my body, I shoved my large suitcase into the trunk, my breathing hitched and labored. _I really hate this car._ I bitterly thought to myself as I stood back to admire the pure crappiness of it. It was a rusty pink 79' Chrysler Volare, the lights stared back at me like a flat-faced bull. Half the muffler was missing from backing up into a light post when I was sixteen, and one of my lights had gone out suddenly without warning. However, despite all its atrocious quirks, I had bought the piece of crap with my hard-earned money, and looking at it still brought me a bit of pride. It was also one of the only things in my life that I could say was mine, and that meant more than most would realize.

I pulled open the driver's seat door, slipping into the crunchy seat and started the car. My stomach clenched as I heard the coughing of the engine and finally, the roar of life from the Volare, with a silent prayer of thanks to my father, I pulled out onto the street and drove towards the highway where my second home lay in the distant horizon.

* * *

Upon my arrival into Long Island, I was met by the salty and sweet sea breeze of the harbor. New York's skyline touching the distant sun as I pulled out onto the long road that lead to Camp Half-Blood. It would have been a perfect day, if it hadn't been for the nerves that were eating my stomach. My hands slightly shook as I turned onto the drive that led to the Big House. Never had I been so anxious and scared to go back to camp. What would this summer hold? In the past, all my summers had been filled with long and happy days with my friends down by the beach, crazy nights when some of us would sneak out into the dead of night only to watch the stars and the moon chase the sky, and of course, gods-awful singing by the campfire. That had all been part of a different time. Now, I was forced to confront the past…and that would not be easy.

Ole' Bessie, my beloved Volare, coughed with finality as I pulled into the small parking lot beside the Big House. It was obvious that a new summer at Camp Half-Blood had begun. Old and familiar faces met and rejoiced at seeing one another again, new ones crept nervously behind some of the older campers. The strawberry fields were filled with children of Demeter running up and down the rows of the fields, collecting the succulent and ripe fruit for dinner that night. A small daughter of Aphrodite was laughing and chasing after a loose pegasus, who obviously did not want to be caught. A small smile pulled at my lips. This was home, regardless of the past pains that had happened.

Pining for the last of my courage, I got out of my car, slamming the door and walking around to the trunk, pulling my colossal suitcase out. I growled and dropped it to the ground, clutching my cramping hand and swearing obscenities. You can bet what I must have looked like: an idiot with a broken hand, dancing around on a fake leg. My cheeks burned as I attracted stares from my fellow campers. _Only me._ I thought as I attempted to heave my suitcase towards the cabins on the other side of camp.

"Kristen! Oh. My. Gods. Kris!" A high-pitched scream met my ears and I turned quickly just in time to meet a powerful embrace from my best friend, Katie Gardner. "You have no idea how much I've missed you!" We tumbled onto the ground, laughing.

"Katie, next time we hug it out, I hug you first, okay?" I laughed with a happy smile touching my face. I was genuinely happy to see my friend. Honestly, it was hard to even stay mad at Katie. She was hilarious.

"Right." She grinned and leaped to her feet, offering her hand to me. "Come on! Chiron's been looking for you. Camp Half-Blood got swanky this year; we now have ' _registration_.'" She seriously had just said "swanky." Well, that's new. To my horror, she grabbed my massive suitcase and swung it over her shoulder with complete ease. How had she…? I shook my head in disbelief and limped to catch up with her.

"Seriously, though. What's new with life? Perhaps a Stoll brother _stole_ something of yours beside a candy bar…" I hinted at her obvious relationship with Travis Stoll, another great friend of mine, but one the camp's infamous pranksters. I mean, him and his younger brother, Connor, made Houdini appear like a beginner in the ways of tricks and pranks. Katie blushed bright red like a Camp Half-Blood strawberry, and pushed a dark strand of hair behind her ear.

"He told everyone… Didn't he?" Katie tried to sound highly annoyed, but she couldn't help but let a smile break over her lips.

"Honey, he posted that on Twitter a _long_ time ago." I laughed around a smile that pulled at my mouth. Katie laughed and rolled her eyes, too embarrassed to make an argument.

"I really like him, Kris." She said with a smile. It was a classic Katie Gardner smile, and I'm sure it was that smile that won Travis' heart. It was simple but touched her eyes warmly, making them appear like she could spot out the good in any person. "But he's still an idiot. I mean… He ruined my cabin's roof!" Her expression turning sharply stern and I nearly tripped over my leg for the third time that day, I laughed so hard. That had been an awesome camp memory. Connor and Travis had turned the whole Demeter cabin's grass roof into a chocolate-covered Easter Bunny paradise. Katie had lost it; she swore she would never speak to another Hermes' cabin member again… Obviously, that hadn't worked out as she had planned.

We finally reached the dining pavilion where wood nymphs and satyrs alike were rushing around with baskets of registration papers, but a few satyrs were having a bit of a hard time as they kept nervously eating one child's registration form. Amidst the madness, Chiron was sitting beside a very annoyed Mr. D who was snapping at a young boy to write his name clearly. I smiled when I saw Chiron, his greying hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail while his dark eyes were warmly smiling at a blonde-haired girl standing beside him. Her grey eyes bright and mirthful as she laughed at something Chiron said.

"Annabeth!" Katie called to the blonde with a friendly grin. Annabeth met Katie's eyes with a jubilant expression, leaping over the table, and running to the both of us.

"Katie, hi! Gods, Kristen," she embraced Katie and I warmly. "How are you, Kristen?" She sought my eyes with a concerned expression and I shrugged lightly.

"I'm alright, as good as you can be, I guess." My smile didn't meet my eyes. Annabeth warmly squeezed my shoulder with a bona fide expression, she seemed like she had more to say, but she saw someone in the distance. We turned to look where she was staring and were met by the sight of a tall boy with black shaggy hair and bright green eyes. Percy Jackson. The celebrity of Camp Half-Blood and Annabeth's boyfriend. Our grey-eyed friend got a dreamy smile on her face and spun quickly to face Katie.

"Counselor meeting tonight at ten, right before lights out." She nodded to us once more, before she ran outside to embrace Percy and Grover. Those three were inseparable. Like Katie and I were, Annabeth, Percy, and Grover had been through more than any of us had. In fact, I had still been waiting for my first quest while Percy and Annabeth had been on more than any of us could count. Katie and I exchanged smiles; Annabeth and Percy were usually the talk of camp, anyway. Percy was _really_ hot, and Annabeth was probably going to be the first female President of the United States. She was a genius and he was amazing with a sword. They were perfect, and let's not forget the fact that they were _adorable_ together.

"Archer?" I heard my last name called from behind me and turned to see Mr. D was looking at me with a sunken and disappointed expression. "Your mother called and said you weren't coming to camp this summer…" He seemed so heartbroken by this notion that he would have to deal with me for yet another summer. What a douche.

My lips pulled into a sweet smile. "Mr. D, you honestly believed that I would leave you… Alone? Without me here to brighten your day?" My voice pitching into a sugary tone, knowing it would annoy him even more.

He rolled his eyes and looked to Chiron who was looking at me with an odd expression. "You're Apollo's kid, right?"

"Cabin Seven, assigned to bunk three for eleven years, sir." I grinned.

"Right. Well…" He eyed my suitcase and Katie with a disgusted expression. "Get out of here, then. Idiotic registration… Father making me… Needy and mortal demigods…" He muttered under his breath with a hateful glare in our direction. As Katie and I turned to leave, Chiron gripped my arm quickly.

"Kristen, my dear, may I speak to you for a moment?" He offered Katie a reassuring smile as he looked at me once more.

"Umm… Of course, sir." I nodded at Katie to go off to her cabin to settle in. She cast a glance down to my prosthetic leg and gingerly handed me back my suitcase, as if I was easy to break. She smiled at both of us and ran off into the open sunlight, leaving me with Chiron and a ton of questions.


End file.
